Friday, 31 March 2017

SO WHY DID 'BEN' CALL IT A 'DAY'? I 'SMELL' A STORY...

I'm probably a product of my time. The word 'proba-bly' in that sentence is really only to provide alliteration, as

there's not much (if any) doubt about it. We're all products

of our time you see, being shaped by what we experience as

we grow up to become curmudgeonly old farts, of which I

am now one. If you're past middle-age, you are too.

Comics don't seem like comics to me anymore. I was in

my local FORBIDDEN PLANET store a few weeks back,

and on the row upon row of shelves of periodicals staring back

at me, I saw only one that had a speech balloon on the cover. It

was like they were declaringthemselves to be respectable, gen-

uine magazines now, not mere comics As if to prove their point,

they were all printed on glossy magazine-style paper, with su-

perior, multi-hued colouring, not the cheap newsprint with

Ben-Day dot colours that comics had back in my day.

However much I may enjoy reading some of the new

titles around today, I don't get the same feeling I do as

when I read a comic from the 1960s, '70s or '80s. There's a

scent that emanates from comics of those times that is almost

like a drug, taunting, teasing, and caressing my olfactory organs

with an aroma that is truly tantalising. Today's comics no longer

have a splash page, instead featuring a boring page of expository

text, to facilitate the inevitable collected edition several months
down the line. See? Comics aren't even the 'real deal' now-
adays, being no more than a dry run for the trade paper-
backs or deluxe hardcover volumes that follow.

It's arguable whether today's comicbooks are better,

worse, or just the same as they ever were when it comes

to storytelling techniques or artistic ability, but to me, one

thing is certain - they're simply not as satisfying, as encom-
passing a sensory 'experience' (involving not only sight, buttouch and tang as well) as they used to be back when they
weren't striving so hard to be anything other than what they
were. Namely, a half-hour's pleasantly entertaining diver-
sion from the everyday problems and irritations that
beset us all in this crazy game called life.

12 comments:

H'mm, not really a comparable equation, CJ. Your 'logic' often lacks a sense of sophistication, it seems to me. Things do indeed change, but not always for the 'better'. Comics nowadays have (here's that word again) better paper, better printing, sometimes even better art, but the 'experience' of reading them is not necessarily 'better' for all that (even if they're a better read). Perching on the porcelain with a glossy comicbook of today, doesn't provide the same overall sense-shattering sensation that older comics do. The paper is shinier, the colours are in better register, but darker, bleaker, duller, than a 1960s or '70s comic, which is brighter, has a better texture, and caresses one's nostrils in a far more seductive way. Yes, you're right - I'm a perv!

Absolutely. I would rather have non-computer driven art and cheap paper, with that distinctive smell, any day. No we are not being old codgers. Well that is American slang for old farts, FYI. Current books are not nearly as interesting, art driven or even follow good sequential art format. After reading comics for 55 years I have to struggle to figure out what is happening panel to panel and even page to page. Ugh.

And of course, M, even the occasional book that IS as good as one of the old ones, doesn't satisfy ALL the senses in the way that an older comic used to, because of the so-called 'improvements' in printing and paper. A comic used to be a far more encompassing experience.

Funnily enough, Baab, my house was burgled last week, and all that was stolen was my DC 1st Issue Specials of Dingbats of Danger Street, Atlas, and The Manhunter. I wonder if there's a connection? Tell you what - send them back to me and we'll say no more about it.

Well.You foolishly posted a ton of pictures and memories,giving me the ideal opportunity to case the joint.I have one wall in my lair dedicated to you,with lines drawn and connecting various photos and interior and exterior shots,printouts of reminiscing moving house, which were easily configured to reveal your location.

I miss the splash page, covers that reflect the story, comics printed on newsprint paper and the panel borders around the page.

Probably a difficult one to decide if comics really are not as good now as in the past as a lot of this will be down to the age we were when you first got into comics. But I do really think they were better in the 60s – 1976 ish period due to the way they were produced, the printing the accessibility of them and the price – not to mention there was a lot of (then) fresh talent on the scene that learned their skills in other areas such as advertising, animation etc whereas a lot of today’s talent (some who are excellent technical artists) are fan boys that despite their abilities are just copying the “greats” that came before and are missing how to do sequential art the way the old guard had mastered (I also can’t count the times I have lost tack on a story from page to page and even in some occassions on the same page).

It’s not just new comics that for me (at least) that lost the ”magic” I wasn’t a fan of a lot of DC, Marvels etc comics from around 1977 – 1988 etc as for me a lot of the art and characters were a bit bland then and I hated the 1980s Baxter paper– but then again I bet someone like Colin looks at the 80s as a high point in comics as he was a kid hen (and I was about 19 in 1980 ).

Yeah, I'd agree with pretty much all of that, PM. The Baxter paper wasn't the main fault 'though, it was that 'dayglo' colouring they suddenly switched to which ruined the look of the art. I've also lost track with modern comics in the exact way you describe; funny how that never happened reading a comic illustrated by John Romita or any of the other greats, eh?

As for CJ, I'm not always sure how he looks at things - it doesn't seem to be in quite the same way as the rest of us.

STUDIO 77

About the artist:

From 1985 to 2000 A.D. (little joke there), I contributed to a variety of high profile comics and magazines for various companies.

For IPC/FLEETWAY/EGMONT, I freelanced as a lettering and logo artiston various weekly comics and monthly magazines, and also as a resize comic artistandspot illustratoron pocket books, summer specials and annuals.

ForMARVEL U.K., BLACK LIBRARY, REDAN and USBORNE BOOKS, I again freelanced as a lettering artist, also working as arestoration artistfor MARVEL U.S., restoring and re-creating certain pages of JACK KIRBY art for their MARVEL MASTERWORKS editions.

I also lettered the MARVELMAN sample pages submitted to MARVEL U.S. when they were considering acquiring the character, which - as we all now know - they DID.

Supplied comic strips, cartoons and illustrated advertisements for local business campaigns and newspaper publication on a professional basis since the age of 16. Did my first paid art job for publication at 14 or 15 for Lanarkshire Education Board.

Image Enlargement:

In a few instances some images are featured at full size (or larger) to begin with, so clicking is redundant.

Copyright Notice:

Images remain the property of their respective copyright owners and are used here only for the purpose of review, promotion, and nostalgia.

********************************************

In the case of images culled from my own collection where copyright of an item isn't mine, I impose no copying restrictions on fellow bloggers.

(Although, if you don't allow copying on your own site, then you really shouldn't be copying from others, should you?)

And while you can credit this blog if you like, it's not mandatory. Who has time to make notes of every casually visited site during an idle browse of the internet?

In the case of anyone copying images of my own artwork and calligraphy, I affirm my right to be identified as the creator, and any such copying should not be for the purpose of monetary or material gain. (Unless it's mine.)

******************************************

Please also note that this blog is not sponsored by, affiliated with, or connected to, any organisation, business, or group, and is wholly independent.

Discerning Members:

Disclaimer:

Please note that the opinions expressed on this site by myself should not be presumed to be shared or endorsed by any members unless they so specify. And that works both ways.